A set of five valentine glass votives painted in various colors and styles arranged in a V formation

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Make these beautiful Valentine Glass Votives to set the perfect romantic mood this Valentine’s Day, or any other day. The soft glow of the tealights looks so wonderful shining though the heart shapes in the glass.

Text "Valentine Glass Votives DIY Tutorial" above two stacks of glass votives in various styles all lit with electric tealights

A few years ago, I started eating a lot of Oui yogurt. Partially because they are delicious, but also because they come in the most adorable little glass jars. Before I knew it, I had hoarded a small shelf full of them. But that’s nothing new for me.

I kept them because I knew I could make something beautiful with them. And also because I love a good upcycled craft.

My first project was making the cutest Halloween Luminaries. But that only used up a handful of jars, and I had plenty more to spare.

With Valentine’s Day coming up soon, I wanted to make at least one new craft to go along with the season. So I came up with these Valentine glass votives. They are so easy to make and came out so cute!

Text "Valentine Glass Votives DIY Tutorial" above five various glass votives with heart shapes in the glass

What You Will Need to Make Valentine Glass Votives

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Start by grabbing all the materials. Here’s what you will need:

An empty glass yogurt jar, an electric tealight candle, a piece of wax paper, a roll of painters tape, and a pair of small scissors

The wax paper doubles as both a backing for your tape as well as a protective layer over your work surface. 

If you don’t have wax paper it’s possible to use parchment paper as a substitute. However, in my experience the tape has a much harder time sticking to it.

One of my methods also uses a sponge. I used a round painting sponge like this:

A hand holding a round yellow artists sponge

You will also need some sort of paint. I’m going to show three different methods to make these votives and each one uses a different type of paint. So depending on which method you choose, you will need one of the following:

Two cans of spray paint (champagne pink and black), two tubes of fine art acrylic paint (magenta, brilliant red, and titanium white), and two bottles of craft acrylic paint (hot pink and white)

What Kind of Acrylic Paint to Use

Very broadly speaking, there are two main types of acrylic paint. One is craft acrylic paint that is typically found in in little bottles and are usually much less expensive (pictured above on the right). The other is the fine art acrylic paint that typically comes in tubes and is usually used for paintings (pictured above in the middle). 

There are two different methods using acrylic paints that I’m going to go over. One works better with craft acrylics while the other works better with fine art acrylics. 

I’ll go into much more detail in the tutorial and in my conclusions. So you can read through both and decide which will work best for you. 

Text "How to make Valentine Glass Votives" above three various heart votives with glowing electric tealights in them

How to Make Valentine Glass Votives

Step 1: Clean Glass

In order for the heart sticker to properly adhere to the glass, the glass needs to be cleaned to get rid of any oil or dust that might be on it.

An empty and clean glass jar

There’s a few easy ways to do this. You can give it a quick wash with soap and distilled water, wipe it down with rubbing alcohol, or clean it with glass cleaner (like for glasses, not windows). 

Sometimes you might be reusing an old jar, like I am. In that case, you would need to remove the label before cleaning the glass. 

There are a few ways to remove a label from a glass jar. My favorite method is to fill the jar with boiling water, wait several minutes for the heat to soften the adhesive on the label, then carefully peel it off. 

Step 2: Make Heart Sticker 

Now you can make the sticker, which will be used to create the design on the jar. Because these are valentine themed, I predictably went with a simple heart. But of course, the shape can be whatever you like. 

To make the sticker, first tear of a piece of painters tape and stick it onto some wax paper. 

Three strips of painters tape stuck to a piece of wax paper

Some of my designs are a bit taller than the tape. So for those I added a second layer of tape and just slightly overlapped them. 

Two sets of overlapping pieces of painters tape stuck to a piece of wax paper

For my design I cut out a heart template from paper. I made both a larger heart and a small one too. You can also draw the heart directly onto the tape if you want. 

Two paper cutouts of heart shapes, one large and one small

Now trace the design onto the tape. You can use a pencil, pen, marker, or whatever you have on hand. It doesn’t matter as long as you can see the outline.

Three strips of painters tape stuck to a piece of wax paper with three hearts traced onto each piece of tape
Two large heart shapes traced onto pieces of painters tape

Then take your Scissors and cut around the outline. Now you have little stickers for your jars. 

Pieces of painters tape cut into heart shaped stickers, two large and nine small

It’s also possible to cut these stickers using a Cricut or Silhouette cutting machine. I had no need to this time because my design was so simple. But on a more intricate design it can save you a lot of time. 

From here, move on to the next step as quickly as you can. I’ve noticed that if the tape is stuck to the wax paper for too long, it can be really hard to get off.

Step 3: Add Heart Sticker(s) to Glass

This part is fairly straightforward. Just place the stickers onto the jar where you want the design to be. 

For two of my jars I will be painting the outside. So I put my stickers on the outside of the jar. 

For the last jar, I will actually be painting the inside. So, of course, that is where I needed to place my sticker. 

Three glass jars with various blue heart stickers stuck to the outside and inside

Because my designs are simple hearts I didn’t need to put any more thought into this step.

However, if you use a design that isn’t symmetrical, especially if it’s a word or letter, that needs to be taken into account. 

If you are using one of the methods where you paint the outside of the jar, you don’t need to worry about it. But if you use my final method, the sticker needs to be placed on the inside of the jar. 

In that case, you just need to remember to flip your design before tracing it onto the tape. It’s not a big deal, but something that should be taken into account. 

Step 4: Paint Votive

Now it’s time to paint the jar. This is where the process is split into three different methods. The first uses spray paint while the other two use acrylic paint.

Method 1: Using Spray Paint

If you plan to use spray paint, make sure you are in a well ventilated area, preferably outside.

Lay down some newspaper, a trash bag, or something similar to protect your work surface. Then put the jar face down. 

Spray on a layer of paint to cover the entire jar. Then let it dry. This is usually about 20 to 30 minutes, but this can vary. 

If you need another coat of spray paint, it can be added just like the first. Then leave it to dry completely. Again, this can be a bit different from one spray paint to another. 

A glass jar that has been covered with champagne pink colored spray paint

For mine it takes 1 hour before the item can be handled and 24 hours before the paint is fully dry. I like to leave the jar as close to 24 hours as possible before bringing it inside. This is so most of the stinky fumes can dissipate. 

If you do decide to leave it for the 24 hours, I would still move the jar after an hour at least a little or elevate it on something. This will help prevent any paint on the rim from sticking your jar to what’s under it. 

Method 2: Using Acrylic Paint on Outside of Jar

This method works best with fine art acrylics. They are thicker, so you can paint everything in one coat. 

If you wanted to use craft acrylics, that will still work. But you will likely need to apply several coats of paint to get good coverage. 

Start by putting some paint on a sponge. Then dab it all over the outside of the jar. 

Sponging red paint onto a small glass jar with a heart sticker on it

Pay special attention to the area around the edge of the sticker. Make sure to only dab the sponge. Otherwise you could push paint under the sticker. 

Regardless of how careful you are you will likely still get a bit of paint under the sticker. So don’t stress too much about it. Any paint that has seeped under the edges can be fixed later. 

Two fingers holding onto a glass jar that is covered on the outside in red paint

If you are only using one color, just use that all over the jar. However you can use multiple colors if you like. 

I painted a second jar using Magenta, Brilliant Red, and Titanium White. I added these colors in different areas of the glass and used the sponge to blend them together. 

A glass jar that is covered on the outside in pink and white paint

The result ended up being much more subtle than I had hoped. But I’m sure if I didn’t blend them as much the individual colors would have stood out more.

Method 3: Using Acrylic Paint on the Inside of the Jar 

This method works best with craft paint. Fine art acrylics are way too thick. 

Before I get into the process I wanted to note that there are a lot of different kinds of craft paint. And the type of paint you choose DOES MATTER! You’ll see why at the end of the tutorial.

Pour a generous amount of paint right into the jar. Then start to slowly turn the cup at an angle so the paint coats the inside. 

A blob of pink paint on the inside of a glass jar

I like to first focus on getting the area of the sticker covered. That’s the most important part. 

A blob of pink paint that is spreading around the inside of a glass jar

Then keep slowly turning the jar to cover as much of the inside as possible. It doesn’t have to be the whole thing, so no need to be super meticulous about it. 

Now turn the jar upside down. Remember to put something under it to protect your work surface. I used a paper plate. 

It also helps if you have something to elevate the cup a bit. Otherwise it will be sitting in a pool of paint and things may not dry correctly. 

I used a couple of paper cups for this. But you can use anything to elevate the jar as long as you don’t mind getting some paint on it.

A glass jar painted in pink sitting upside down on a pair of paper cups and a paper plate

After that it just needs time to dry. Any excess paint will drip out and leave a nice even coat on the inside

Step 5: Remove Sticker

Regardless of what method of painting you used, once the paint is dry you can remove the sticker.

I would avoid picking at the edges of the sticker so it doesn’t scrape off any paint. Thankfully on the two bigger stickers you can pull the pieces apart from the middle. 

Peeling the heart sticker off of a glass jar that has been painted on the outside in red paint

For the small hearts, I carefully peeled them from the edges of the stickers. Thankfully, I didn’t have any trouble with the paint chipping. 

In most cases you still might have some paint that seeped under the tape. I was able to scrape off anything I didn’t want with a craft knife and that fixed it for the most part. 

A glass jar that has been covered in champagne spray paint except for several small empty areas in the shapes of hearts

Step 6: Display Valentine Glass Votives

Finally, there’s just one thing left to do. Pop a small electric tea light into the jar and watch it glow. 

Three valentine glass votives that are lit with electric tealights, one of each painting style (spray paint, acrylic paint on outside, and acrylic paint on inside)

I went with electric tea lights just to be on the safe side. If you wanted to use candles with an actual wick, it would probably work fine on jars made with the first two methods (where the paint is on the outside of the jar).

The third method has the paint on the inside of the jar, so I wouldn’t recommend using a candle with an actual flame on that one.

Final results of Valentine Glass Votives

While all three methods were easy and gave good results, they each had some pros and cons. So I wanted to go over what I liked and didn’t like about each method.

Spray paint

This technique worked really well. Spray paint gives nice, even coverage and there was only a little paint that leaked under the stickers. 

My biggest problem with spray paint overall is how horrible the fumes are. But working outside helps a lot.

I had a bit of a problem with the first spray paint I used. It came out a bit too thick and parts dried with dark streaks on them. 

A small glass jar with empty areas in the shapes of hearts but some paint has seeped into the heart shapes

However, this is the paint I used for my Glitter Seashell Ornaments, which I made over 2 years ago. The paint has been sitting in my garage ever since so it must just have gotten old. 

I wanted to give it another shot so I used my newest can of spray paint. I bought this one recently to make my glitter light switch plate

A glass jar painted with black spray paint with little empty spots in the shapes of hearts

This one turned out perfectly. So if you want to use spray paint, just make sure the can isn’t too old. 

Paint on Outside of Jar

I really liked this technique as well. It was very easy to paint and the paint dried quickest out of the three techniques (technically the spray paint probably dried the quickest, but it takes much longer before you can handle it).

The sticker was also easy to remove and there was very little paint that leaked underneath. So I really didn’t need to do any finishing touches. 

Two glass jars painted in red and pink paints with a heart shaped opening on each one

The only problem I came across was how to get the jar off my hand once I was done painting. I had to maneuver a small bottle of paint under the glass to get it off my fingers without touching the outside. 

Paint on Inside of Jar

In general, this technique is very easy and because it’s on the inside of the glass, you end up with a smooth glass finish on the outside. 

Out of the three methods it takes the longest to dry and is a bit messy. However, the mess is easily contained and the actual work time is very small. 

But this technique is where I ran into a big problem. Everything seemed to be going well until I went to remove the sticker. And…

A glass jar that has pink paint on the inside and the paint is ripping apart

Disappointingly, the paint ended up lifting away with it. In the end the jar was completely ruined. 

A glass jar with some pink paint on the inside and a hand holding more dried paint that had ripped from the inside of the jar

I still left this technique in the tutorial because it is possible to get it to work. I did some test pieces before starting this article and was able to get it to work the first time. Here was my practice piece:

A valentine glass votive painted hot pink and with a glowing tealight inside

The heart is a little lopsided because this was just my first practice attempt, but as you can see the lines are very clean. The difference between this and the failed jar was that I used a different paint. This one used a matte paint that dries with a chalky finish. 

The paint from the failed jar was a pearl paint that has a glossy finish. So the type of paint is likely the issue. 

Just to make sure I tried to make a few more jars. But this time I used more of my matte chalky paint.

Two finished valentine glass votives with white and pink paint on the insides and an empty area in the shape of a heart

Sure enough, the stickers lifted away with pretty much no issue. There was a bit of excess paint that needed to be scraped away, but other than that I got a good clean outline.

In conclusion, if you want to use this method, I’d only use a paint that has a matte or chalky finish to it. 

Final Thoughts on My Valentine Glass Votives

This project was such a fun way to use up some of the old yogurt jars I had lying around my craft room. All three methods are very beginner friendly, and can be customized to all kinds of different styles.

Of course, you don’t need to limit yourself to just Valentine’s Day themed. Since the stickers can be any shape, you can make them for any holiday or occasion. Just be creative and have fun with it!

I hope that you enjoyed this tutorial and found it helpful. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them below. I’d love to hear from you! Thank you for stopping by and happy crafting!

Signature "Chel" written in pink colored cursive

If you liked this tutorial, don’t forget to pin it for later on Pinterest!

Text "Valentine Glass Votives DIY Tutorial" among pictures of glass jars with heart stickers on them, a hand holding a painted glass jar, and five various finished votives with electric tealights inside

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